U.S. News & World Report seems like it always has a thing for Pennsylvania when it comes to its annual rankings of the “Best Places to Retire,” but this is getting ridiculous.
Pennsylvania locked up the top five spots in the new list unveiled today of the 2024 Best Places to Retire in the United States—and secured seven of the top 10 spots. Harrisburg rose one spot to take the No. 1 rank due to its scores on health care for seniors, retiree tax rates and overall happiness of its residents. It replaced Lancaster, which dropped down to No. 3.
While the rankings released today features three new cities in the top five, they’re all in Pennsylvania. Reading moved up six positions to the No. 2 spot this year. Scranton saw the sole double-digit jump into the top five, rising 13 positions to No. 4, and Allentown climbed four positions to No. 5.
This year’s list evaluated the country’s 150 most populous metropolitan areas based on how well they meet Americans’ expectations for retirement, with measures including Affordability, Health Care, Desirability, Retiree Taxes, Job Market and Overall Happiness.
According to the U.S. News 2024 Best Places to Retire methodology, the western part of the country just doesn’t compare. In the 2022 rankings, nearly three quarters (72%) of metro areas in the U.S. News top 25 were located in Florida or Pennsylvania, and not a single city west of the Mississippi River cracked the top 30. For 2023, cities in Pennsylvania claimed five of the top 10 spots, including No. 1 and 2 and only city west of the Mississippi made the top 25.
2024 U.S. News Best Places to Retire – Top 10
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- Reading, Pennsylvania
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania
- Scranton, Pennsylvania
- Allentown, Pennsylvania
- New York City, New York
- York, Pennsylvania
- Daytona Beach, Florida
- Youngstown, Ohio
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2024 U.S. News Best Places to Retire – Bottom 10
141. Bakersfield, California
142. Salinas, California
143. Santa Rosa, California
144. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
145. Vallejo-Fairfield, California
146. Denver, Colorado
147. San Juan, Puerto Rico
148. Albuquerque, New Mexico
149. Stockton, California
150. San Jose, California
*See the full rankings here.
Worst list ever. New York City? And affordability and retiree taxes were factors? Talk about an East coast bias.
Folks, I grew up in Allentown and go back frequently. I have family and wonderful friends who still live there. Trust me, it is not what it used to be. Public education is terrible and I mean terrible. Downtown used to be a great place to shop and dine………Now you might be shot! I am not sure who did this survey but it looks like they didn’t get out of eastern PA very much!
I suspect large dollar amounts traded hands for this list. My gosh, these are some of the worst places in America. Yes, I used to live in PA, so I know of what I speak. Hello, climate? Unless you’re sitting on your butt in retirement watching TV all day, this state is not for you. Unless you head to FL in the winter. Taxes, toll roads, horrible government….it’s not where to start, it’s where to end. Lordy!